Kings in Eternity
by analogOdyssey
Summary: Milo Coemans just wanted to forget everything that ever happened before New Orleans. Everything up until his sorry self tramped up the ramp onto the boat. But that proves impossible when he takes a job he never even imagined existed - up close and personal research with the Special Infected. It's not going to be easy for either of them.


She paused, turning to him with a bright smile and in that moment she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, despite the blood splatters faintly dusting her cheek and the scar that made it look like one side of her face was always frowning.

"Relax, alright? If you're too tense, you're just gonna give yourself a hard time," but the grip on the double magnums was turning her knuckles white and he could see the panic in her eyes she was trying desperately to hide. "We're so gonna make it."

She turned again, surveying the area before them. He took behind them, pressing his back tightly against hers and scanning the street for any sign of the monsters they'd been fighting since forever ago. The wind gave a melancholic moan, rustling litter across his line of sight. Nothing. He still didn't relax, turning his gaze to the broken windows and rooftops lining the avenue. A growling scream broke through the wind.

"Hunter." She nearly giggled as the growling got even closer, the sound echoing through the dilapidated buildings and alleyways. Another scream made him spin on his heels to look over her shoulder. There it was, creeping through the shadows near the next alley. He could tell she was grinning and he smiled despite the immediate danger, keeping his eyes trained on both her and the street ahead. She knew what she was doing, even if he didn't like it.

Moving forward, guns half-raised to her chest, she waited patiently for the Hunter to show itself with a shriek, leaping at her. The magnums fired once each, straight into the monster's skull, leaving it to continue with the momentum and smash into the ground at her feet.

"Hunter punter!" She whooped, raising the pistols in the air for emphasis. It was his turn to grin, languidly walking up the street to join her. She was extremely good at stopping the leaping beasts dead in their tracks, even in the midst of a horde. He, well, he preferred to stay as far away from them as possible.

She laughed, blowing non-existent smoke away from the barrels and looping an arm around his neck. It wasn't often they got to enjoy themselves lately and he laughed along with her, not noticing a distinct lack of enemies. She did, however, glancing at the sky and shushing him gently. He looked up as well.

The sky was a clear, if darkening, blue, meaning it was getting late and they still hadn't found a safe house. A frown found its way onto his face. The monsters were scarce, and a faint sound could be heard in the distance. It didn't look like it was going to rain anytime soon, which meant….

"We can do this." She said aloud and he guessed it was more for his comfort than her own. They shared a quiet look and he reached behind him to grab the rifle he'd strapped on his back. Pressing his back against the corner of a brick building, he raised it to his shoulder and peered through the scope, thoroughly scanning the distance.

"See anything?" She whispered, pressed against his side in a way that would have been extremely distracting had he not been scared out of his wits. He shook his head. No, wait. He focused on an alley a block or so down. There, the slight hint of overgrown muscle peeking out from in front of a dumpster.

"Sighted." He nearly growled himself. All the alleys lead to dead ends, so there was no way to get around the massive beast without setting it hot on their tails. They had no choice. He lowered the gun slightly, nearly jumping out of his skin when a monster sailed past them propelled by the Tank's fists, and turned to offer her a shaky smile. She returned it, knuckles brushing his hip where his pants were still torn and the last brute had nearly torn his leg off with a hefty piece of rubble.

The metal of the magnum was cold against his skin, but not unwelcome. He sighed, shoulders drooping for a second, before flashing her the most confident grin he could muster.

"We got this." Her smile turned sweeter, and he could feel his heart nearly leaping out of his chest. Suddenly embarrassed, he turned back to the hulking monster at hand with a slight blush colouring his neck and cheeks, hefting the rifle back up to his shoulder with his middle finger on the trigger. He'd lost the upper half of the first when a common infected decided to gnaw on him instead of the pipe bomb she'd thrown a few seconds before. It was still in the process of healing.

"What's the plan?" He asked, mainly to distract himself and put his mind on the right track. She sighed, rubbing at an eye with the heel of her palm.

"No way around it, huh?"

"Negative." She slumped against the brick, eyes on the asphalt. It was getting darker now and even as his own eyes were getting used to the blackness, he could still barely see the outline of the beast. They'd have to act soon if they wanted to get to a safe house in one piece.

"Guess we gotta go through it then." She stowed the pistols in the holsters at her waist, grabbing the shotgun at her side and checking the ammunition. He paused, watching, until she gave a brief thumbs up and took the gun off safety. The click of his own was followed by a slow intake of breath.

"We shoot until it gets too close, then run." She nodded, fitting the Benelli to her shoulder and waiting for the ground shaking roar of the Tank to sound. He peered through the scope once more, adjusting himself and aiming slightly above the monster's exposed flesh. Quietly, he steadied himself before taking the shot.

The Tank howled in pain and it took longer than necessary to steady himself again thanks to the beast. He fired off two more rounds before the monster, finally noticing them, charged. They stood their ground for the better part of a minute, enough for them both to empty a magazine each before turning tail.

"Shit," she breathed, trying to reload but dropping the bullets instead. Behind them, the Tank roared and a groaning followed quickly behind it. Cursing as well, he tugged her out of the path of a giant hunk of asphalt hurtling at them. Their feet pounded against the pavement, sending up dust and rocks. Another roar. He chanced a look behind him and panicked.

"Car; get around the corner!" He didn't expect it to come that fast, going through the windshield with a sickening smash.

Intense pain blossomed immediately, setting his legs and back on fire. The car crunched against the stone wall of a building and he smacked his head against the dashboard. A thin, piercing wail came from the outside and he turned his face towards the wall instinctively, the darkness obscuring most of the view.

The Tank roared again, slamming his fist into the back end of the car, jarring him, before, apparently satisfied for the moment, storming off in search of other things to decimate. After a minute, his vision adjusted.

Blood dripped down on the concrete from what he could see of the body, hands still gripping the shotgun tightly. He forced his eyes away from her legs, moving up to where her face should have been.

He couldn't see her head. Everything from the elbows up was crushed.

He screamed.

An answering shriek reverberated loudly through the street and pure, unadulterated fear coursed through his veins. The Hunter leapt on top of the car, rattling the whole thing with the force of his pounce. It was quiet for a second, then, until he heard the quiet movement of the beast towards where she was and a sickening _shlick_ of its claws tearing at what it could get of her body.

Eyes wide, he let out a strangled sob. Unabashed tears streamed down his cheek and mingled with the blood pooling under him.

It wasn't supposed to turn out like this. They were supposed to survive together. Supposed to make it out of this hell together. He heard a low keening then, loud and unsteady, and it took him a minute to figure out he was making it.

The Hunter gave a shriek of his own, leaping off the underside to the ground. He turned his head, nose scraping against the broken glass of the windshield, and could just make out the unwavering yellow stare through the blur, choking on another scream. The adrenaline was wearing off and he was feeling every cut, scrape, bruise, and broken bone. Closing his eyes, he resigned to his fate.

He was going to die here.

* * *

_Quick notes:_

_Hunter Punter is the achievement you receive for melee-ing a hunter off someone in the first game. I believe the achievement for headshot-ing a hunter mid-pounce is called either Dead Stop or Jump Shot._

_The main character is using a Henry AR-7, while his recently-deceased companion was using the Benelli SuperNova which looks like a really cool gun to shoot, and easy for a female to. I got lost in the research bit while choosing the guns and I dearly wish I could own one but, since I live in New York at the moment, that's kind of impossible. Oh well._

_It's definitely a work in progress and even spell-checked and edited, I'm sure there's bound to be a mistake or three I've missed._

___Thanks for reading, though. _Questions, comments, criticism? I'll take anything at this point.


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